Mike Tomlin won’t be giving Steelers any rah-rah speeches

The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to their worst start since 2002. Coach Mike Tomlin expects his team to be focused on getting themselves out of their current 0-3 hole.

“I’m not going to encourage them to,” Tomlin said after the team’s 40-23 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. “I’m not going to pat them on the back for sticking together, for continuing to work or for being mentally tough. I expect them to, and that’s what I just told them in there.”

The Steelers will begin preparing for their Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Tuesday.

“It’s not different for us until we get there,’ Tomlin said. “We don’t go until Thursday after work is done. So, between now and then it’s business as usual. That’s the approach we need to take. We’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously. So that is the approach we’ll take. We’ll deal with London when we get there.”

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers, who have not started 0-3 since 2002, have not made the playoffs after their previous 0-3 starts.

“We’re frustrated and disappointed but we are not going to lose our confidence,” Ben Roethlisberger insisted. “We are going to have to put it together, and put it together fast, though.”

Safety Ryan Clark says the Steelers have to stay focused on beating the Vikings.

“You have to approach it just winning one game. Just focus on winning the next game we play. I think you do that every week. You can’t win 13 on one Sunday. All you can do is win one.

“No matter how many we lose, we’re going to play 16. They’re not going to stop games, let us forfeit because we’re not winning.”